Holders and compressors for collapsible tubes



e. B. WILT ,722,343

HOLDERS AND COMPRESSORS FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Filed April 1, 1953 Nov. 1, 1955 Fig. 2

Gerald B. Wi/f INVENTOR.

BY eon paw 5m United States Patent HOLDERS AND COMPRESSORS FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Gerald B. Wilt, East Freedom, Pa.

Application April 1, 1953, Serial No. 346,214

1 Claim. (Cl. 222-98) My invention relates to improvements in holders and compressors for dispensing toothpaste, shaving cream, and the like, from collapsible tubes.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a simply constructed device to be mounted on a wall or the like, for holding and compressing a collapsible tube to dispense its contents, and into which a brush may be inserted from one side of the casing, by the left hand and the device operated from the other side thereof, by the right hand, to cause a collapsible tube to dispense the contents thereof onto the brush while the brush and contents dispensed are within full view of an operator standing in front of the device, all to the end that the dispensing operation may be accomplished conveniently and quickly and without waste of the contents of the tube.

Another important object is to provide a device for the above purposes embodying improved means for compressing the collapsible tube to cause dispensing of its contents therefrom.

Still another object is to provide a device having the above advantages, and which is light in weight, strong, and adapted for manufacture at low cost.

Other and subordinate objects, within the purview of my invention, together with the precise nature of my improvements will become readily apparent when the succeeding description and claim are read with reference to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification.

In said drawings:

Figure l is a view in perspective of my improved holder and compressor with the cover section closed and locked and illustrating the right side of the casing;

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation, partly broken away and shown in vertical section, with the cover section partly open;

Figure 3 is a view in perspective illustrating the left side of the casing;

Figure 4 is a view in plan drawn to a larger scale;

Figure 5 is a view in horizontal section taken on the line of 55 of Figure 1 and drawn to a larger scale; and

Figure 6 is an exploded view in perspective of the tube wind up roller, the detachable collar and collar fastening pin drawn to a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, my improved holder and compressor comprises, in the preferred embodiment thereof, a vertically elongated, rectangular casing 1, open at its upper and lower ends, for ventilating purposes, and comprising a tube holding rear section 3, and a front cover section 5.

The rear section 3 comprises a flat back wall 7, having formed thereon, right and left side walls 9, 11, at a right angle thereto, the right wall 9 being of the same length as said back wall 7 and closing the right side of the casing 1, and left wall 11 being relatively shorter than the back wall 7 and extending part way down said casing from the upper end thereof so that the left side of the casing 1 is provided with a vertically elongated opening 13 therein below said left wall extending therefrom to the lower end of the casing and of substantially the same width as the depth of the casing for easy convenient insertion of a toothbrush or shaving brush, not shown, into the casing from the left side thereof. Upper and lower screw, or nail receiving apertures 15, 17, in the back wall 7, provide for attaching the rear section 3 to a wall, or the like, not shown.

A tube wind up roller 19 in the rear section 3 extends transversely thereof between said walls 9, 11, with its ends suitably journaled in said walls 9, 11. End play of the roller 19 is prevented by a fixed collar 21, on one end thereof, outside the left wall 11, and a knurled collar 23, secured on the other end of said roller, outside the right wall 9, and which forms a knob for manually rotating said roller and is detachably attached to said roller by a pin 25 so that the roller 19 may be mounted in place. The usual longitudinal slot 27 in the roller 19 provides for insertion of the sealed end 29 of a collapsible tube 31 through said roller for winding up the tube thereon to pull said tube upwardly in the casing 1 in suspended position with its discharge end 33 lowermost.

A pair of front and rear laterally spaced compressor rollers 35, 37, in the rear section 3, which is to say in the casing 1, extend transversely thereof below the roller 19 with reduced, headed ends 39, 41, rotatably extended out of a pair of horizontal slots 43, 45, in the right and left walls 9, 11, so that said rollers 35, 37, are rotatable freely. The slots 43, 45, have open front ends, as at 47, so that said rollers 35, 37, may be mounted in place. The front rollers 35 is movable toward the rear roller 37 in a manner and by means presently clear, for compressing the tube between said rollers 35, 37, to dispense the contents of said tube.

The cover section 5 is provided with a right angled, right side flange 49 of the same length as the right side wall 9 adapted to overlap said wall 9, and with a left side flange 51 of the same length, as the left side wall 11 adapted to overlap said wall 11. A pivot 53 extends through the flange 49 and said wall 9 at the lower end of the casing 1 and on which the cover section 5 is vertically swingable into open and closed position. The right side flange 49 is cut out, as at 55, opposite the collar 23 so that it will not interfere with manual turning of said collar, or knob. The left side flange 51 is notched, as at 56 to clear the collar 21 and not interfere with rotation of said collar 21. A pair of square notches 57 are provided in the side flanges 49, 51, which, when the cover section 15 is closed, straddle and engage the reduced ends 39 of the front compressor rollers 35 and thereby form means whereby closing of the cover section 5 will result in forcing the roller 35 toward the roller 37 to compress the tube 31 between said rollers 35, 37.

Means for locking the cover section 5 closed is provided in the form of a pair of screws 59, 61, in the right and left side walls 9, 11, which are received in open slots 63, 65, in said flanges 49, 51, to clampingly engage said flanges.

The casing 1 is formed of plastic, for lightness and strength, and economy in manufacture, and the cover section 5 is formed of transparent plastic so that an operator standing in front of the casing may look through said cover section into said casing.

The manner in which the invention is used and operated will be readily understood. With the cover section 5 open, as is shown in Figure 2, and the front compressor roller 35 removed out of the slots 43, 45, the tube 31 is inserted in the rear section 3 with the sealed end 29 of said tube straightened out and inserted in the slot 27 and partly wound on said roller 19 so that the tube 31 hangs pendent in front of the rear compressor roller 37. The front compressor roller 35 is then placed in the slots 43, 45, in front of the tube 31 and the cover section 5 closed, and locked closed, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. Closing of the cover section 5, as previously explained, will cause the compressor rollers 35, 37, to compress the tube 31 therebetween to cause the tube to dispense its contents when said tube is drawn upwardly by winding the same up on the roller 19. A toothbrush or shaving brush, not shown, may now be inserted into the casing 1 from the left side thereof through the opening 13, beneath the discharge end 33 of the tube 31, and the roller 19 may be operated by the right hand, while the brush is being held in position by the left hand, to cause the contents of the tube to be dispensed, in the desired amount on said brush all within the full view of the operator looking through the cover section 3 from the front of the casing 5.

The foregoing will, it is believed, sufiice to impart a clearunderstanding of my invention, without further ex planation.

Manifestly, the invention, as described, is susceptible of modification without departing from the inventive concept and right is herein reserved to such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A holder and compressor for dispensing the contents of a collapsible tube comprising a vertically elongated rectangular casing including a rear section and a front cover section, said rear section comprising a flat back having right and left side walls thereon, the right side wall being of the same length as said back wall and closing the right side of the casing, the left side wall extending part way down saidvcasing from the upper end thereof and forming with said back wall and cover section a vertically elongated opening in the left side of the casing for insertion of a brush therethrough into said casing from the left side thereof, a pair of compressor rollers in said rear section journaled in said side walls above said opening for compressinga tube inserted upwardly therebetween, a tube wind-up roller in said rear section above said compressor roller for attachment to the tube to wind up the same, an operating knob on said wind-up roller at the right side of the casing for operation by the right hand of an operator while the brush is being held inserted in the casing by the left hand of the operator, said cover section being transparent so that the operator may view therethrough the position of the brush and the dispensing operation, one of said compressor rollers being movable toward the other so that said pair will compress the tube, said cover section being pivoted on said rear section for closing, and coengaging means on said one compressor roller and cover section for moving said one roller by closing of said cover section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 871,890 Rohde et a1 Nov. 26, 1907 934,182 Jopling Sept. 14, 1909 1,270,267 Crismon June 25, 1918 

